The Partner
by Haleybug52
Summary: There was always one question: Who was Anna Harding, and what did she mean to G Callen? Now's the time to get answers on who his partner of eight years would have been. (Series of one-shots showing their relationship.)
1. Chapter 1

**One**

He walked into the office, heading straight for the coffee pot. Jet lag was affecting him even more than usual. He guessed that it had something to do with various flights that brought him from Moscow back to Langley. For once, he hoped that he would be behind his desk, just long enough for him to get back into the swing of things; being undercover in Russia for the past six months had brought out his darker side, and his habit of drinking despite it being daylight.

He placed his duffel bag on the floor beside his desk. There was no mistaking the heavy thud it made, probably because that one bag held all of his personal belongings.

He took a giant gulp of his coffee and leaned against his desk, he had been sitting in planes for the better part of two days and preferred to stand.

"Well, well, well; look who it is. The lone wolf, G Callen, has finally returned" teased a voice. Callen turned to see Christopher Thompson walking towards him.

The two had surprisingly hit it off when Chris came to Langley, and Callen even considered him somewhat of a friend, which was extremely rare. G Callen didn't normally have friends. He could barely keep a partner for more than a few months at a time.

"Did you miss me?" Callen joked.

Chris rolled his eyes, "I enjoyed the peace and quiet. You weren't here stirring up partner drama. Some of the guys have been betting by the way, how many have you actually been through while here at Langley? Twenty? Thirty?"

"One can never divulge his secrets" Callen responded. His eyes shifted towards the door, watching a woman with vibrant red hair and sea green eyes walk into the bullpen.

"Fresh off the Farm?" he asked, nodding his head to the woman and she walked from the doors towards them.

"Something like that" Chris said with a smile, which he tried to hide behind his coffee cup.

Callen watched the woman walk past them and up the stairs towards the Director's office. She knocked on the door hesitantly before walking in, and she disappeared from their view.

"Everyone's been taking bets on how long she'll last. Half the office thinks she's not cut out to be an agent, and she'll go running within a few months" Chris said as he sat at his desk, which was conveniently located across from Callen's.

"Does she have an unbearable partner?" Callen asked taking another sip of his coffee. He watched as the woman walked out with the Director, the two talking quietly and making their way down the stairs.

"You could say that" Chris replied with a little chuckle, once again using his coffee cup as cover to hide his smirk. The pair began to walk this way, and then stopped in front of the pair. The small grin that Callen had while the two had been talking and joking around quickly disappeared when he realized what was happening.

"Welcome back Agent Callen, and congratulations are in order. You were extremely successful on your mission in Moscow" the Director said, holding out his hand.

"Thank you, sir" he replied shaking it. He turned his icy blue eyes to the girl standing in front of him, she was looking at him, a nervous smile on her face.

"While you were away, we started looking for you a new partner. Agent Callen meet Anna Harding, she will be your partner for now on" the Director replied, and before he walked back up to his office, he leaned in close to Callen whispering, "Try not to run this one off, will you?"

The Director turned to look at the woman known as Anna Harding. "Make yourself at home Agent Harding, and welcome to Langley" he said before going back to his office. Anna Harding nodded her head in thanks and turned her sea green eyes back to look at G Callen, her new partner.

She had heard stories about the man. He was supposedly a legend, and was especially known for working alone. No one really knew how many partners he had run off before her, and she was sure he was going to try his best to do the same to her, but she wasn't going to let him. She saw the looks all the other agents had been giving her since she had come to Langley a few days before. They were all expecting her to wash out, just like everyone had expected her to wash out of the Farm. Of course, she had proven them wrong.

Anna Harding was many things, but she was not a quitter.

She placed her things on the desk in front of Agent Callen's. He had yet to speak a word. The agent he had been talking to earlier, and several other agents were watching them, most probably expecting her to break under the man's icy blue stare. He was furious that he had come back to a partner he hadn't approved on, especially one that was fresh off the Farm.

She stood in front of him, putting her hands on her hips, and locked her sea green eyes with his. If he wanted a staring match, she would give him one.

She could feel her eyes starting to dry, and her body tingled with nerves. This man was a legend at the Farm. His icy blue eyes had been known to break many men, and here she was, her first day as his partner, and they were glaring at each other. Finally, she couldn't help it, she blinked and looked away. When she looked back at him she saw one more icy glare before he turned and stormed out of the office, pushing his way through the double glass doors. Anna gulped knowing that she had more than likely made a huge mistake.

She heard a chuckle and turned to look at the man who had been talking to Agent Callen earlier. He grinned at her.

"This is going to be good" he said taking one more sip of coffee and placing it on his desk. He pushed himself away from it and held his hand out to the newbie.

"Christopher Thompson, but you can call me Chris" he said.

"Anna Harding" she answered shaking his hand.

"Welcome to Langley Anna Harding" he replied before grabbing his coffee cup and heading towards the coffee pot.

"Try and last more than a month will you? I've got money riding on you" he called out with a laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

A week. That's how long she had been at Langley, and how long she had known G Callen. He had spoken to her, briefly, as he filled out the paperwork from whatever mission he had just returned from. The rumor mill running around Langley had said it had been a tough case, but of course, this was G Callen they were talking about, the lone wolf, he could handle tough.

Anna walked through the double glass doors leading to the bullpen and saw Callen and Chris standing at Callen's desk, looking at a file. When she got closer she saw whose file it was. Hers.

"Find anything useful in there boys?" she asked placing her bag on her desk. They looked up at her, seeing a hint of annoyance on her face.

"You graduated at the top of your class at the Farm?" Chris asked doubting what the file said. He looked at the woman in front of him. Saying she was tiny would be an understatement. She was five foot, five inches, and Anna couldn't have weighed more than a hundred and fifteen pounds. Chris was twice her size, and felt like if the two of them ever sparred together she would break in half.

"I may not look like a fighter, but I can handle myself just fine" she said, reaching to take the file away from them. She knew it would happen sooner or later, but it didn't mean she liked it. Whatever was in her file was none of their business. She and Callen may be partners, but they didn't have to share their lives with each other. It's how he wanted it, and for once, they agreed on something.

"Now that I would like to see" Chris said, turning to Callen with a smirk on his face. Callen shook his head, not liking where this was going. His friend had a way of getting in to some messy situations without even having to be in the field.

Anna placed her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, meet me in the gym in ten" she replied before heading for the glass doors.

Callen and Chis stared after her. "You can't possibly mean right now?" Chris called after her.

"No time like the present, come along boys" she called over her shoulder. The two men looked at each other and then shrugged, following the new girl into the gym. Anna was nowhere to be seen so it could only mean that she had already went into the women's locker room to change. Chris headed in, ready to gear up against the new girl.

Callen stood at the mat, his arms crossed and he watched as several other agents from their department walked in. They had obviously heard the interaction between his partner and Chris and wanted to see what the new girl was made out of just as much as he and Chris wanted to.

Anna walked out of the locker room, pulling her red hair up into a high ponytail. She was in a pair of running pants and tank top, and even though she was tiny he could see that she had muscles. Chris walked out in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and they stood across from each other on the mat, taping up their hands. Callen walked in between them, he was going to have to play the role of judge.

"Looks like you two have an audience" he replied.

"Good, someone needs to witness that I beat your ass" Anna replied with a smirk.

"Callen's here" Chris protested.

"Please, he doesn't count. He has a favorite after all" she said.

"Okay you two, you know the rules, same apply here as the Farm. Keep it clean, we don't need to send anyone to the hospital with dislocated, fractured, or broken bones today. Try to keep the bruising down to a minimum. Got it?" he asked.

Anna nodded while Chris replied "Crystal clear."

"Let's get this party started" Callen replied stepping back. The two agents both brought their hands up, falling into the fighting stance.

"Hope I don't bruise your ego to badly, Chris" Anna teased.

"The new girls got jokes, good to know" Chris said before he sent a right hook flying towards Anna. She pivoted and easily dodged out of the way, sending her own punch that would have caught Chris in the jaw if he had not thrown his arm up to block her.

Callen watched as they both continued to hit, and sometimes dodge or block one anothers punches and kicks. Currently the two were in close quarters. Chris had just grabbed Anna trying to get her to the ground so he could pin her, but Anna shot an elbow into his ribs, forcing Chris backwards. He kicked his right foot up and Anna caught it, yanking him down to the ground. There was a loud thud as he hit the mat.

Callen grinned, along with some of their coworkers. The girl could fight.

Chris swept his leg out, catching Anna's feet, and soon she ended up on the mat just like him. Chris sent a jab that caught her in the cheek, thankfully they were hitting each other to hard so it wouldn't leave a bruise. Chris pinned her to the ground, a victorious smile on his face. He looked down at her.

"Not bad newbie, better luck next ti-"he began to say, but was cut short when Anna used her feet to send him over her, and back onto the mat. She rolled on top of him, using her knees to pin his legs, one hand holding his arms above his head, and one arm pressing into his throat. She may be tiny, but there was strength in her that couldn't be seen. Chris struggled, trying to break free, but each time, her arm dug into his throat a little harder and it made it harder for him to breath.

"Your move, big guy" Anna replied with a smirk, keeping every ounce of her weight on him. She was new, and she had a hell of a lot more to prove than he did. Not only to her coworkers that had gathered to watch the match, but to her partner, who still wasn't keen on working with her.

Callen came to stand above them, and for the first time since she had gotten there, Anna Harding saw a smirk on the lone wolf's face.

"You might as well give it up Chris, it's clear our newbie here kicked your ass. Go ahead and save yourself from any further humiliation and tap out" he replied.

Chris let out a groan, falling back onto the mat after all his struggling and tapped his hand against the mat. With a victorious grin Anna got up off of him. Getting to her feet she held her hand out to her coworker who was laying with his eyes closed in defeat.

"Come on big guy, don't take it to personal. I kicked everyone's asses at the Farm" she replied with a laugh. She watched as her coworkers chuckled and headed back towards the office. The show was over, and as far as they were concerned, the new girl was starting to prove herself. Chris let out another groan before opening his eyes and reluctantly taking her hand. She helped him to his feet.

"Shake hands, it was a good fight" Callen said knowing that that would be the last thing Chris wanted to do. The man needed to go lick his wounds having just been beaten by a girl who was not only new, but incredibly smaller than him. Chris reached out and shook her hand giving her a nod of approval. She was one of them in his eyes now.

"Welcome to the club, newbie" he said with a grin before heading to the locker room. Anna watched Callen give her a nod and then he left. She stood on the mat for a minute, and then, after making sure no one was around, she broke out into a huge grin as she headed to the locker room to change.

 _Welcome to the club, newbie._


End file.
